AMERICAN THEATRE: “You’re right. Everyone else is wrong.”
A few hours after writer and performer Cole Escola offered this advice to LGBTQ+ viewers in a Logo TV interview, they made history as the first openly nonbinary actor to win a Tony Award for performance in a play (Oh, Mary!, which they also wrote).
2 comments:
I am very excited that a non-binary actor won a Tony. It is always a huge win for equality when a “first” happens for a discriminated group. Even tho these groups and people should have been recognized and awarded for their works, arts, and crafts, it is still always a win and cause for celebration when someone is rightfully recognized for their works without their identity being a reason for being looked over for being recognized for their work. I really enjoyed reading about how, with the collaboration through like-minded people and artists, they started to release the mindset of having to fit in a gender box or normative representation of themselves. I loved how this article was split up, and each part of the article was labeled as encouraging mantras and advice, and types of affirmations, such as “find yourself”, “find your people”, “find your voice”, and “Look to what is next”.
It was great to hear advice for LGBTQ+ artists to succeed in the theatre industry! Theatre has historically been restricted to the affluent and powerful (which has not included LGBTQ+ people).
I was surprised by the influence of having a role model on young people. I didn’t know that positive representation had such an impact. It does make sense though! Children associate themselves with the characters they read about and see on television and the people they meet.
I also loved the advice “look to what’s next.” It can be easy to stay stuck in frustration about the current state of the industry. But its important to think about where the industry can go, and what your part in that change can be.
The pictures I saw in this article were also gorgeous! I loved the picture of Taylor Mac in “Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music,” taken by Teddy Wolff. The hair, makeup, and costuming on Mac is just beautiful.
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